System and method of managing information distribution to mobile stations

ABSTRACT

A system and method for distributing information from a host service in communication with, a computer network to a mobile station in communication with a wireless network is provided. A data item associated with the mobile station is received at the host service. The host service then determines whether a network resource of the wireless network is currently associated with the mobile station. If the network resource of the wireless network is not currently associated with the mobile station, then the host service transmits a resource request message to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquire the network resource. Subsequently to acquiring the network resource, the host service is then able to transmit the data item to the mobile station using the network resource.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/340,300, filed Dec. 7, 2001, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. This application is also acontinuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 11/499,290,which is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No.10/313,103, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,341, the entire disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to the field of data communications ina wireless network. More particularly, the present invention relates toa system and method for managing information distribution to mobilestations in a wireless network.

2. Description of the Related Art

Emerging wireless data networks, such as the General Packet RadioService (GPRS) network, may utilize the Internet Protocol (IP) forrouting data to mobile stations. The most popular IP standard, IPversion 4 (IPv4), has limited addressing capability and thus utilizes adynamic addressing scheme. In the dynamic addressing scheme, a pool ofavailable network addresses is dynamically assigned to a much greaterpool of mobile stations depending on which mobile stations are accessingthe network. Additional network resources, such as a Packet DataProtocol (PDP) context in the GPRS network, are allocated to mobilestations when the mobile stations are accessing the network.

An emerging IP standard, IP version 6 (IPv6), provides substantiallypermanent IP addresses due to a much larger address space, and thus thedynamic addressing scheme used in IPv4 is unnecessary. In an IPv6network, however, additional network resources, such as the PDP contextin the GPRS network, are still dynamically allocated to mobile stationswhen the mobile stations are accessing the network.

SUMMARY

A system for managing information distribution between a computernetwork and mobile stations in communication with a wireless networkcomprises one or more host services and a network resource monitor. Eachhost service is operable to receive data items associated with mobilestations, and for each data item, to determine from a resource status ofnetwork resources associated with the mobile stations whether a networkresource is associated with a mobile station. Upon a negativedetermination, each host service is further operable to transmit anout-of-band message (or signal) to the mobile station to instruct themobile station to acquire the network resource and to transmit the dataitem to the mobile station upon receiving a confirmation message thatthe mobile station has acquired the network resource. The networkresource monitor is in communication with the wireless network and theone or more host services and is operable to track the resource statusof network resources associated with the mobile stations and toautomatically transmit the resource status to the one or more hostservices.

Another system for managing information distribution to a mobile stationin communication with a wireless network comprises a host serviceoperable to receive a data item associated with the mobile station anddetermine whether a network resource is associated with the mobilestation, and upon a negative determination is further operable totransmit an out-of-band message to the mobile station to instruct themobile station to acquire the network resource.

Another system for managing information distribution between a hostservice in communication with a computer network and a mobile station incommunication with a wireless network comprises a mobile station. Themobile station comprises a processing subsystem, a communicationsubsystem, and a memory subsystem, and is operable to receive anout-of-band network resource request over the communication subsystemand in response to the network resource request obtain a networkresource in the wireless network and transmit a confirmation message tothe host service indicating the mobile station has acquired the networkresource.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for managing informationdistribution to mobile stations in a wireless network;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that providesIP tunneling between a mobile station and a host system;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing informationdistribution to mobile stations in a wireless network carried out at ahost system;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing informationdistribution to mobile stations in a wireless network carried out at amobile station;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that providesan HTTP communication between a mobile station and a host system;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another method of managinginformation distribution to mobile stations in a wireless networkcarried out at a mobile station;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system for managinginformation distribution to mobile stations in an IPv6 wireless network;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that includes anetwork resource monitor in communication with the wireless network andthe host system; and

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing informationdistribution to mobile stations in a wireless network carried out at anetwork resource monitor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for managing informationdistribution from host systems 100 and 120 to mobile stations 152 and154 in communication with a wireless network 144 and voice wirelessnetwork 146. While only two host systems 100 and 120 and two mobilestations 152 and 154 are shown, the system can include additional hostsystems and mobile stations.

The host system 100 is illustratively a computer device 102, such as amail server connected to a Local Area Network (LAN), running aredirector software program 104. The redirector software 104 operates inconjunction with the mail server 102 to redirect user selectedinformation to the mobile stations 152 and 154. An exemplary mobilestation may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,442,entitled “HAND-HELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH A KEYBOARD OPTIMIZED FOR USEWITH THE THUMBS,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference. Furthermore, an exemplary redirector software program maybe of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,694, entitled “SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR PUSHING INFORMATION FROM A HOST SYSTEM TO A MOBILE DATACOMMUNICATION DEVICE HAVING A SHARED ELECTRONIC ADDRESS,” the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The redirector software 104 may exist on any machine within thecorporate environment 100, preferably behind a firewall 108 operatingwithin the LAN. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) server 106 allows usersto connect to corporate services via the Internet 130. VPN servers 106provide higher security and tunneling of network requests over theInternet 130.

The host system 120 includes another computer device 122, such as a webserver, running web server software 124 that can include direct WirelessAccess Protocol (WAP) support. WAP support provides mobile station 152and 154 compatible web content for small Personal Digital Assistants(PDAs), phones and other types of mobile stations. The web server 122may also be running an information transcoder that can efficientlytranscode a first data type received at the web server 122 into a seconddata type of reduced size for transmission to mobile stations 152 and154. Similarly, the web server 122 may be running an ASP (ApplicationService Provider) solution such as AOL, or a web portal such as Yahoo,or a wireless web solution such as GoAmerica, or some private webservice offering. Usually, the web server 122 is protected by a firewall126.

The system manages information distribution to the mobile stations 152and 154 so that data items may be delivered asynchronously to the mobilestations 152 and 154 that are in communication with the wireless network144 and 146. The IP-based wireless network 144 and voice wirelessnetwork 146 are illustratively IP-based networks comprising a privateset of IP addresses. The wireless networks 144 and 146 are preferablyimplemented as one network, supporting both data and voicecommunications, respectively, for the mobile stations 152 and 154 thougha base station 148. One example of such a network is the Global Systemfor Mobile communications (GSM) network and GPRS network that isavailable world-wide and can support both voice and data through thebase station 148.

The networks 144 and 146 include a network infrastructure 143 to supportnetwork services, such an Access Point Nodes (APNs) 142, SMS dataservices, PDP Context Allocation services 150 and Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP) interface services 140 and others. Forexample, in GPRS, a PDP context is used to open an IP tunnel over theGSM/GPRS network infrastructure. The PDP context allocation 150component is linked with DHCP services, as each PDP context isautomatically assigned an IP address through DHCP. Because the wirelessnetworks 144 and 146 operate a private, dynamically-assigned IP addressspace, the DHCP server 140 is responsible for allocating anddeallocating network addresses to the mobile stations 152 and 154. Thisoperation occurs in conjunction with the PDP context allocationcomponent 150.

SMS services are available within a GSM network. The SMS messages arecommonly routed over the voice network 146. Alternatively, the SMSmessages may also be routed over the IP-based wireless data network 144.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that providesIP tunneling between a mobile station 220 and a host system 200. Thehost system 200 illustratively comprises a host service 204, such as amail or web server computer device as described with reference to FIG.1.

Steps 21-26 describe the process of pushing information from the hostsystem 200 to the mobile station 220. In this embodiment, the networkinfrastructure 143 provides tunneling of IP packets from the Internet130 to the mobile station 220. Such tunneling is supported through anetwork address translation (NAT) router, or by using a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), which is available from a wide variety of network vendorssuch as Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks.

Step 21 occurs upon the arrival of information data items 202 that areto be pushed to a mobile station 220. The data items 202 can be, forexample, e-mail messages, web site requests, search requests, databaseinquiries, phone calls, calendar alarms, to-do list items, workgrouprelated items, voice mail messages or database items that have changed,CRM or ETP data items, etc. Data items 202 associated with the mobilestation 220 are pushed to the mobile station. A data item 202 isassociated with the mobile station 220 if it is addressed directly tothe mobile station, or addressed to an electronic address at which dataitems 202 are repeated to the mobile station. Other association methodsmay also be used.

Although not required in the system, a resource monitor, such as a DHCPmonitor/database server 210, can be in communication with the network144. The resource monitor 210 may communicate with the host service 204via the networks 144 and/or 130, or alternatively may communicate via aseparate data channel. The resource monitor 210 monitors DHCP trafficusing a TCP/IP port splitter. One such TCP/IP port splitter is availableon Cisco System routers as a built-in feature. The resource monitor 210can provide an automatic update of the status of a network resource,such as the network 144 domain and an IP address or PDP contextallocated to the mobile stations 220. The detailed operation of theresource monitor 210 is shown and described with reference to FIGS. 8and 9.

Upon the arrival of the data item 202, the host service 204 determinesif there is a network resource, illustratively an IP address, allocatedfor the mobile station 220. The IP address shown in mobile station 220is simply representative of the data portion of the dual-mode mobilestation 220 capable of both voice and data communications. Thedetermination of whether there is a network resource allocated to themobile station 220 may be made, for example, by accessing resourceallocation status data of mobile stations stored at the host service204. If there is no IP address allocated to the mobile station 220, orif NAT and VPN services are not available from the IP-based wirelessnetwork 144, then the host service 204 performs step 22, and sends aresource request message to the mobile station 220 via an out-of-bandcommunication channel. One such out-of-band communication is an SMSmessage. SMS services are provided by an SMS Center, which is includedin the network infrastructure 143. The SMS message utilizes the mobilestation's 220 Mobile Station International ISDN Number (MSISDN) or phonenumber 224 for addressing. The SMS Phone number value shown in mobilestation 220 is simply representative of the voice portion of thedual-mode mobile station 220 capable of both voice and datacommunications.

The SMS Phone number value shown in mobile station 220 is simplyrepresentative of the voice portion of the dual-mode mobile station 220capable of both voice and data communications. Although the SMS messagecan be sent over the voice or data protocols implemented in base station148, the MSISDN is still used for out-of-band addressing and an IP dataexchange is not involved with the transfer of information.

The resource request message includes a command indicating that themobile station 220 should setup a PDP context and acquire an IP address.The SMS message may arrive on either the voice network 146 or, in anetwork such as GSM/GPRS, on the data network 144, as a GSM/GPRS networksupports SMS messaging. Although in a GPRS network the network resourceis a PDP Context, in other IP-based wireless networks othercorresponding network resources may be acquired.

The resource request message also includes data that indicates whetherthe resource monitor 210 is in communication with the DHCP server 140.Upon receiving the resource request message, the mobile station 220performs all necessary steps in step 23 to acquire the network resource,such as the IP address 222. The process of acquiring the networkresource may vary depending on the type of wireless network and thecommunication protocol implemented in the network. For example, step 23would result in the establishment of a PDP context in a GPRS network ifa PDP context were not already present.

In another embodiment, acquiring network resource by the mobile station220 is subject to user intervention. In this embodiment, the user isnotified via the SMS message received at the mobile station 220 that adata item is pending delivery to the mobile station 220. The user isthen able to determine the content of the data item via a small portionof the data item being displayed on an I/O device in the mobile station220 and determine if they are willing to pay for delivery of the entiredata item.

Once the IP address 222 is acquired by the mobile station 220, themobile station 220 checks the resource request message to determine ifit needs to transmit the new IP address 222 to the host service 204. Ifthe resource request message indicates that the resource monitor 210 isin communication with the DHCP server 140, then the resource monitor 210will automatically send the new IP address 222 of the mobile station 220to the host service 204, and thus the mobile station 220 need not sendthe IP address 222 to the host service 204.

However, if the resource request message indicates that the resourcemonitor 210 is not in communication with the DHCP server 140; orindicates that no resource monitor 210 is present; or indicates that themobile station 220 is required to transmit the IP address 222 to thehost service 224, then the mobile station transmits the IP address 222to the host service 204 over the wireless network 144, as shown in step24. The transmission of the IP address 222 is according to the normalprocess in which transmissions occur over the wireless network 144, suchas by using TCP/IP and/or HTTP commands to exchange either HTML data orother information. In an alternative embodiment, the IP address 222 istransmitted back to the host service 224 via an out-of-band message.

When the host service 204 receives the new IP address, either from theresource monitor 210 or from the mobile station 220 directly, the hostservice executes step 25 and performs an association between the IPaddress 222 and the mobile station 220. Once this association is made,step 26 is executed to send the information to the mobile station 220.

FIG. 3 provides a flow diagram 1000 illustrating a method of managinginformation distribution to mobile stations in a wireless networkcarried out at a host system. In step 1002, a data item is received atthe host system. In step 1004, the host system determines if the dataitem is to be transmitted to a mobile station. If the data item is notto be transmitted to a mobile station, then the data item is processedat the host system in step 1006.

If the data item is to be transmitted to a mobile station, however, thenin step 1008 the host system determines if a network resources isallocated to the mobile station. The host system may store a networkresource allocation table, for example, which indicates whetherparticular mobile stations have been allocated a network resource, suchas an IP address or a PDP context.

If the host system determines that a network resource has been allocatedto the mobile station, then the data item is sent to the mobile station,as shown in step 1010. Alternatively, if the host system determines thata network resource has not been allocated to the mobile station, or thatthe network resource is no longer valid, then the host system sends anout-of-band resource request message to the mobile station in step 1012,and then waits for the network resource to be allocated to the mobilestation, as shown in step 1014. One common way to determine the validityof the network resource is to run an idle timer that corresponds to theconfigured IP-based wireless network 144 idle timer.

Once the network resource is allocated to the mobile station, the hostsystem may be notified by either the mobile station directly, or by aresource monitor in communication with a wireless network accessed bythe mobile station. The data item is then sent to the mobile stationfrom the host system, as shown in step 1010.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing informationdistribution to mobile stations in a wireless network carried out at amobile station. In step 1102, the mobile station receives an out-of-bandmessage transmitted from the host system. In step 1104, the mobilestation determines if the out-of-band message is a resource requestmessage. If the out-of-band message is not a resource request message,then the message is processed at the mobile station, as shown in step1106.

If the out-of-band message is a resource request message, however, thenthe mobile station obtains the necessary network resources, such as anIP address and/or a PDP context, in step 1108. In step 1110, the mobilestation determines if it is required to transmit information regardingthe acquired network resource back to the host system. Thisdetermination may be based on additional data in the resource requestindicating whether a resource monitor is in communication with thewireless network accessed by the mobile station, for example. If themobile station is not required to transmit information regarding theacquired network resource back to the host system, then the mobilestation waits to receive the data item from the host system, as shown instep 1112. If the mobile station is required to transmit informationregarding the acquired network resource back to the host system,however, then the mobile station transmits the information in step 1114,and then the mobile station waits to receive the data item from the hostsystem, as shown in step 1112.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that providesan HTTP communication between a mobile station 320 and a host system300. The host system 300 illustratively comprises a host service 304,such as a mail or web server computer device as described with referenceto FIG. 1.

Steps 31-36 describe the process of pushing information from the hostsystem 300 to the mobile station 320. In this embodiment, the networkinfrastructure 143 does not provide tunneling of IP packets from theInternet 130 to the mobile station 320. Instead, the mobile station 320uses HTTP to communicate information directly to the host service 304.HTTP is supported in a variety of wireless networks, and thus the mobilestation 320 may make conventional HTTP requests. Thus, the mobilestation 320 and host service 304 perform a normal HTTP get and put, orget and post, whichever is best suited to the particular situation. Thesame URL value will be used to associate the request with the response.Furthermore, the PDP Context allocation service 150 and the DHCP server140 are not monitored by a resource monitor.

As shown in FIG. 5, step 31 results in the arrival of a data item 302for the mobile station 320. Upon the arrival of the data item 302, thehost service 304 determines if a network resource is allocated to themobile station 320. If there is no network resource allocated to themobile station 320, then the host service 304 performs step 32, andsends a resource request message to the mobile station 320 via anout-of-band communication channel. Because there is no tunnelingsupport, the host service 304 cannot reach the mobile station 320 usingtraditional TCP/IP or UDP/IP means. Thus, the host service 304 musttransmit an out-of-band message to the mobile station 320 as anindicator that the data item 302 is pending for delivery to the mobilestation 320. Again, the out-of-band communication is illustratively anSMS message.

Step 33 occurs if the mobile station 320 does not already have anallocated network resource, such as an assigned IP address. In aGSM/GPRS network, this may also involve requesting a PDP contextactivation, which results in the assignment of an IP address value. Ineither situation the mobile station 320 acquires an IP address and isthen able to make an outgoing HTTP request using the networkinfrastructure 143, as shown in step 34.

The outgoing HTTP request is addressed to a URL associated with the hostsystem 300. The URL may be stored in a memory subsystem of the mobilestation 320, or it may be provided to the mobile station 320 via theout-of-band resource request message. The wireless network 144 includesa conventional firewall/proxy server in the network infrastructure 143and the mobile station 320 makes the request to the APN 142, which inturn determines the exit point to all connected host services outsidethe network 144.

Step 35 occurs as the host service 304 receives the HTTP request from amobile station and matches it to a known mobile station 320. Thisassociation can be accomplished in several ways, such as by usingHTTP-based cookies to track the progress of request/response stages toensure the mobile station 320 is receiving data. Step 36 results in thehost service 304 fulfilling the HTTP request from the mobile station 320through the appropriate HTTP response, and thus the data item 302 isprovided to the mobile station 320.

FIG. 6 provides a flow diagram 1200 illustrating another method ofmanaging information distribution to mobile stations in a wirelessnetwork carried out at a mobile station according to the embodiment ofFIG. 5. In step 1202, the mobile station receives an out-of-band messagetransmitted from the host system. In step 1204, the mobile stationdetermines if the out-of-band message is a resource request message. Ifthe out-of-band message is not a resource request message, then themessage is processed at the mobile station, as shown in step 1206.

In another embodiment, the out-of-band message may also contain thecurrent cookie value for the mobile station, maintained by the hostsystem. The cookie value can be used on the subsequent request to reduceoverhead and ensure the host system and the mobile station are insynchronization.

If the out-of-band message is a resource request message, however, thenthe mobile station obtains the necessary network resources in step 1208.In step 1210, the mobile station determines if the out-of-band resourcerequest included an URL. If the out-of-band resource request includes anURL, then the mobile station sends information related to the acquirednetwork resource to the host system addressed by the URL via HTTP, asshown in step 1212. If the out-of-band resource request does not includean URL, however, then the mobile station retrieves an URL stored in itsmemory subsystem and sends information related to the acquired networkresource to the host system addressed by the stored URL via HTTP, asshown in step 1214. The mobile station then waits to receive the dataitem from the host system, as shown in step 1216. By establishing acookie method the host system can ensure the current HTTP request isfrom the correct user and maintain better security standards.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system for managinginformation distribution to mobile stations in an IPv6 wireless network450. The wireless networks 450 and 452 can support both voice and datacommunications in a manner as similarly described with networks 144 and146. The voice-based wireless network 452 provides voice communicationto the mobile stations 420 and 422. The wireless network 450 is anIPv6-based network that provides other data communication capabilitiesfor the mobile stations 420 and 422, such as receiving and sendinge-mail, documents, files, and the like.

While the networks 450 and 452 each provide different communicationcapabilities as described above, the network 450 may also be capable ofsupporting voice over IP (VoIP). Of course, traditional addressing tothe mobile station for voice communications (e.g., a cell phone number)may still be implemented. Furthermore, the network infrastructure 143supports conventional services such as SMS message exchange, Internetweb access, PDP Context allocation 150 and DHCP address management 140.

The IP address in the network 450 is an IPv6 address, which is a 16-byteaddress instead of the 4-byte address of an IPv4 address. Because the16-byte address in the IPv6 network 450 supports virtually unlimitedaddressing, the mobile stations 420 and 422 are provided a permanent orsemi-permanent IPv6 address. A permanent address is an address that doesnot change, e.g. the address may be stored in a Subscriber IdentityModule (SIM) in the mobile station, or stored in a PROM or FLASH memoryin the mobile station. A semi-permanent address is an address that doesnot change for a long period, e.g., an address is assigned to the mobilestation pursuant to a subscription agreement granting access to thenetwork 450 and revoked only when the agreement in terminated. Othermethods of providing a semi-permanent address may also be used.

Thus, in most situations the address of the mobile stations 420 and 422will have an IP address that will not change. Accordingly, once anaddress is assigned to a mobile station, the address can be virtuallydedicated to the mobile station. Of course, there are situations when anaddress may be reassigned, such as theft or destruction of the mobilestation, or termination of an access agreement.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary exchanges of data, the first with a hostsystem 400 and the second with a web server 412 located at a weblocation 402. The host system 400 comprises a host service 406, such asa mail server, running a redirector program 404. A VPN server 408 allowsusers to connect to corporate services via the Internet 130. If the IPv6address is provided to the host service 406, and the PDP context for themobile station 420 is active, data items may be exchanged between themobile station 420 and the host service 406, as shown by step 45.

If the host service 406 does not have the IPv6 address for the mobilestation 420, then data items may not be pushed from the host service 406to the mobile station 420. The IPv6 address of the mobile station 420may be provided to the host service 406 via an out-of-band communicationfrom the mobile station 420 to the host service 406, such as by auser-initiated communication between the mobile station 420 and the hostservice 406. Alternatively, the IPv6 address may be provided via an HTTPcommunication from the mobile station 420. For example, a user maydesire access to a web server 410 providing WAP support service 412. Theuser may contact the web server 410 via an HTTP communication to providethe IPv6 address to the mobile station 420, and possibly otherinformation, to gain access to the web server 410.

While the mobile station 420 does not need to acquire a dynamic IPaddress, the mobile station 420 still needs to acquire networkresources, such as a PDP context, to communicate over the network 450.The PDP context is a valued network resource that terminates in thenetwork APNs. Because the network 450 must dedicate resources tomaintain the PDP context, the PDP context is often released if themobile station 420 is idle for a given time so that other mobilestations may communicate over the network 450. When the PDP context isreleased, the capability to route data to the mobile station 420terminates. Thus, PDP contexts are still limited despite the fact thatthe mobile station 420 has a permanent IPv6 address.

The system provides the host service 406 the ability to track thenetwork resources allocated to the mobile station 420, and to instructthe mobile station 420 to obtain the network resources as needed. If aresource monitor 210 is in communication with the network 450, thenfewer data exchanges are required to establish communication between themobile station 420 and the host service 406. Steps 41 and 42 are similarto the steps 21, 22 and 31, 32 as previously described, wherein the hostservice 406 sends an out-of-band resource request message to the mobilestation 420 to inform the mobile station 420 that a data item ispending.

In one embodiment, the host service 406 tracks an idle period for themobile station 420 to determine whether an active PDP context isassociated with the mobile station 420 before transmitting the resourcerequest message. If the host service 404 determines that the mobilestation 420 should have an active PDP context, then the data item istransmitted to the mobile station 420. If an error message is receivedat the host service 406 as a result of the transmission of the data item(e.g., the data item could not be delivered because the PDP context isnot associated with the IPv6 address of the mobile station 420), then aresource request message is transmitted to the mobile station 420.

If there is no active PDP context associated with the mobile station420, then step 42 is executed and the resource request message istransmitted to the mobile station 420. The mobile station 420 thenexecutes step 43 and requests a PDP context activation, providing itsIPv6 address to be associated with the PDP context.

Once the PDP context is allocated to the mobile station 420, the mobilestation 420 may communicate with the host service 406. In oneembodiment, a resource monitor 210, such as a DHCP monitor or a PDPcontext monitor, monitors the resource status of network resourcesallocated to the mobile station 420. The resource monitor monitors thestatus of network resources controlled by the DHCP server 140 and thePDP Context Allocation service 150 via the TCP/IP splitter 211. Thestatus is provided to the host service 406 automatically upon any changein state of the status, as shown in step 44. This resource status may beprovided only to the host service 406 associated with the mobile station420, or it may be broadcast to a plurality of host services.

Data items may then be exchanged between the mobile station 420 and thehost service 406, as shown by step 45. In one embodiment, the networkinfrastructure 143 supports full two-way, asynchronous communicationsbetween the mobile station 420 and the host service 406 at any time,provided a PDP context is active. In another embodiment, the mobilestation 420 may initiate an HTTP-Get operation and receive data item inan HTTP-Post or Put operation.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an embodiment of the system that includes anetwork resource monitor 210 in communication with the wireless network144 and host systems 100 and 120. Steps 51-53 illustrate the process ofthe network resource monitor 210 providing a resource status of mobilestations 152 and 154 to the host systems 100 and 120. The resourcemonitor monitors the status of network resources controlled by the DHCPserver 140 and the PDP Context Allocation service 150 via the TCP/IPsplitter 211. The host system 100 is associated with mobile station 152,and the host system 120 is associated with mobile station 154. Thenetwork resource monitor 210 communicates with both host systems 100 and120. Thus, while steps 51-53 are described with reference to host system100 and mobile station 152, the same process may also be carried outwith respect to host system 120 and mobile station 154.

The resource monitor 210 may communicate with the host service 204 viathe networks 144 and/or 130, or alternatively may communicate via aseparate data channel. For example, the communication between theresource monitor 210 and the host service 204 could be carried over adedicated, point-to-point link like ISDN, or it could be carried over aVPN connection through the Internet 130. The VPN connection method wouldbe used to increase security and ensure traffic between the two point isnot monitored or attacked by hackers.

During the execution of step 51, initialization data is sent from thehost system 100 to the resource monitor 210. The initialization dataindicates that a new host system 100 is present to receive data from andsend data to mobile stations in communication with the wireless networks144 and 146, and to receive network resource status updates related tothe mobile stations.

In another embodiment, the host system 100 provides a list of associatedmobile stations to the resource monitor 210. Thus, the resource monitor210 can associate particular mobile stations with the host system 100,and provide network resource status updates related only to those mobilestations to the host system 100. In this embodiment, the host system 100provides a list to the resource monitor indicating that the host system100 is associated with the mobile station 152.

The host system 100 may be associated with a mobile station by severalmethods. In one embodiment, the mobile station is associated with thehost system 100 when the mobile station mates with a serial port 115 ona network owned by the host system 100 and exchanges private keyinformation used for encrypting information. In another embodiment themobile station is associated with the host system 100 when the mobilestation logs into a secure web site and registers with the host system100.

This list of associated mobile stations allows the resource monitor 210to build an associative table mapping the mobile stations to a specifichost system. This function may be carried out by a conventional databaseserver located in the resource monitor 210, such as a LDAP server, anOracle Server, a Microsoft database server, or any network-basedtechnology that can perform address mapping.

Step 52 is executed whenever the mobile station 152 is allocated anetwork resource, such as an IP address. Step 52 can also be executedwhen a new PDP Context is assigned and a new IP address is not required,i.e. in the case of mobile station in an IPv6 network requiring a newPDP context for its associated IP address. Step 52 could also beexecuted if the IP address is revoked from the mobile station 152, or ifthe PDP context is released. In all cases, execution of step 52 providesthe host system 100 resource status information regarding the resourcestatus of the mobile station 152. Once a change to the status of themobile station 152 occurs, the resource monitor 210 is informed of thischange via the TCP/IP port splitter 211.

In an alternative embodiment, the resource monitor 210 monitors thenetwork resource status via network router commands that cause amirroring of TCP/IP traffic on two ports, and thus the TCP/IP portsplitter 211 may not be required. If a mapping table entry is presentwithin the resource monitor 210, then changes in the resource status areprovided to the specific Host Location 100 or 120 associated with themobile station 152 or 154.

If no such mapping table entry exists, then the newly allocated ordeallocated network resources may be broadcast to all host systems. Inanother embodiment, if the mobile station 152 or 154 is not associatedwith a particular host location 100 or 120, then a network resourcestatus change, such as a change in an IP address or PDP context, isignored by the resource monitor 210.

Step 53 is executed to exchange data between the host system 100 and themobile station 152 once the updated resource status of the mobilestation 152 has been delivered to the host stations 100. The dataexchange can occur via HTTP, or directly over the Internet using TCP orUDP, as previously described.

In another embodiment, the resource monitor 210 provides the resourcestatus and mobile station associations to all registered host systems,and thus each registered host system may communicate with each mobilestation, regardless of the mobile station association.

FIG. 9 provides a flow diagram 1300 illustrating a method of managinginformation distribution to mobile stations in a wireless networkcarried out at a network resource monitor. In step 1302, the resourcemonitor waits for an incoming message or signal. In step 1304, theresource monitor determines if the incoming communication is a hostsystem registration, such as would occur when a new host system isconnected to the Internet, for example.

If the incoming communication is a host system registration, then instep 1306 the host system is registered in the network resource monitor.Registration of the host system includes, for example, the step ofstoring the URL of the host system in a database accessible by theresource monitor. Upon registration of the host system, the resourcemonitor retrieves and stores a table of mobile stations that areassociated with the host system, and returns the mobile station resourcestatus, if present, so that the host system has a starting point withits own device status table, as shown in step 1308. Thus, the resourcemonitor can associate a particular mobile station with its associatedhost system and provide resource status related to the particular mobilestation only to its associated host system.

If the incoming communication is not a host system registration, thenthe resource monitor determines if the incoming communication is a hostsystem association update, as shown in step 1310. A host systemassociation update may include the addition or deletion of an associatedmobile station in a corresponding host system table of associated mobilestations. If the incoming communication is a host system associationupdate, then the corresponding table of associated mobile stations isupdated, and the mobile station resource status, if present, isreturned, as shown in step 1312.

If the incoming communication is not a host system association update,then the resource monitor determines if the incoming communication is amobile station resource allocation update, as shown in step 1314. Aresource allocation update may occur when a mobile station is assigned anew dynamic IP address, is allocated a PDP context, or if an assigned IPaddress is released or an allocated PDP context is released, and thelike. If the incoming communication is a mobile station resourceallocation update, the resource monitor looks up the associated hostsystems that have an association with this mobile station, and thennotifies the associated host system of the resource allocation update tothe mobile station, as shown in step 1316. In step 1318, the table ofassociated mobile stations is updated to reflect the current resourcestatus of the mobile station. If the incoming communication is a mobilestation resource is not an allocation update, then the communication isprocessed at the resource monitor, as shown in step 1320.

The embodiments described herein are examples of structures, systems ormethods having elements corresponding to the elements of the inventionrecited in the claims. This written description may enable those ofordinary skill in the art to make and use embodiments having alternativeelements that likewise correspond to the elements of the inventionrecited in the claims. The intended scope of the invention thus includesother structures, systems or methods that do not differ from the literallanguage of the claims, and further includes other structures, systemsor methods with insubstantial differences from the literal language ofthe claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method of distributing information from a hostservice in communication with a computer network to a mobile station incommunication with a wireless network, comprising: receiving at the hostservice a data item associated with the mobile station; determining atthe host service whether a network resource of the wireless network iscurrently associated with the mobile station; if the network resource ofthe wireless network is not currently associated with the mobilestation, then transmitting a resource request message from the hostservice to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquirethe network resource; and transmitting the data item to the mobilestation using the network resource; wherein the network resource is aPacket Data Protocol (PDP) context.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe step of transmitting a resource request message from the hostservice to the mobile station to instruct the mobile station to acquirethe network resource comprises: transmitting a first instruction tocause the mobile station to acquire the network resource; andtransmitting a second instruction to cause the mobile station totransmit a confirmation message to the host service upon acquiring thenetwork resource.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the confirmationmessage transmitted by the mobile station to the host service includesidentifying information regarding the network resource.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the step of transmitting a resource request messagefrom the host service to the mobile station to instruct the mobilestation to acquire the network resource comprises: transmitting aninstruction to cause the mobile station to acquire the network resource;and transmitting data indicating whether the mobile station is requiredto transmit to the host service a confirmation message that the mobilestation has acquired the network resource.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the data indicating whether the mobile station is required totransmit to the host service a confirmation message that the mobilestation has acquired the network resource further indicates whether themobile station is required to transmit to the host service identifyinginformation regarding the network resource.
 7. The method of claim 2,wherein the resource request message is an SMS message transmitted fromthe host service to the mobile station over a wireless voice network. 8.The method of claim 2, wherein the resource request message includes aUniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the host service.
 9. Themethod of claim 2, wherein information contained in the resource requestmessage is displayed on the mobile station along with a user interfaceoperable to provide an option regarding whether the mobile stationshould acquire the network resource as instructed in the resourcerequest message.
 10. A system for distributing information to a wirelessmobile station over a wireless network, comprising: a host service incommunication with a computer network that receives a data itemassociated with the wireless mobile station and determines whether anetwork resource of the wireless network is associated with the wirelessmobile station, wherein if the host service determines that the networkresource is not associated with the mobile station, then transmiting aresource request message to the wireless mobile station to instruct thewireless mobile station to acquire the network resource; wherein thehost service transmits the data item to the wireless mobile stationusing the network resource; and wherein the network resource is a PacketData Protocol (PDP) context.
 11. The system of claim 10, furthercomprising transmitting a first instruction from the hose service tocause the wireless mobile station to acquire the network resource andtransmiting a second instruction to cause the wireless mobile station totransmit a confirmation message to the host service upon acquiring thenetwork resource.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the confirmationmessage transmitted by the wireless mobile station to the host serviceincludes identifying information regarding the network resource.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising transmitting an instruction fromthe host service to cause the wireless mobile station to acquire thenetwork resource and to transmit data indicating whether the wirelessmobile station is required to transmit a confirmation message that thewireless mobile station has acquired the network resource to the hostservice.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the data indicating whetherthe wireless mobile station is required to transmit to the host servicea confirmation message that the wireless mobile station has acquired thenetwork resource further indicates whether the wireless mobile stationis required to transmit to the host service identifying informationregarding the network resource.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein theresource request message is an SMS message transmitted from the hostservice to the wireless mobile station over a wireless voice network.16. The system of claim 10, wherein the resource request messageincludes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the hostservice.
 17. The system of claim 10, further comprising: a userinterface of the wireless mobile station configured to: displayinformation from the resource request message; and provide an optionregarding whether the wireless mobile station should acquire the networkresource as instructed in the resource request message.
 18. A method ofdistributing information from a host service in communication with acomputer network to a mobile station in communication with a wirelessnetwork, comprising: receiving at the host service a data itemassociated with the mobile station; determining at the host servicewhether a network resource of the wireless network is currentlyassociated with the mobile station; if the network resource is notcurrently associated with the mobile station, then transmitting anout-of-band message to the mobile station indicating that the data itemis awaiting delivery to the mobile station; receiving an HTTP requestaddressed to a URL associated with the host service, the HTTP requestgenerated at the mobile station after requesting allocation of thenetwork resource in response to the out-of-band message; andtransmitting an HTTP response that includes the data item to the mobilestation.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the wireless network doesnot support tunneling of IP packets from the Internet to the mobilestation.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the out-of-band message isan SMS message.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the network resourceis an IP address.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the out-of-bandmessage includes the URL associated with the host service.
 23. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the URL associated with the host service isstored in a memory of the mobile station.
 24. The method of claim 18,wherein the HTTP request is associated with the mobile station throughthe use of an HTTP-based cookie to ensure that the mobile station isreceiving data.
 25. A method of managing at a network resource monitordistribution of information from a host system to mobile stations in awireless network, comprising: receiving a communication at the networkresource monitor; determining whether the communication is aregistration request from the host system; if the communication is aregistration request, then registering the host system with the networkresource monitor, receiving information from the host system aboutmobile stations associated therewith, and storing the information aboutmobile stations associated with the host system at the network resourcemonitor; if the communication is not a registration request, thendetermining whether the communication is a host system associationupdate; if the communication is a host system association update, thenthe network resource monitor updating information stored at the networkresource monitor regarding mobile stations associated with the hostsystem; if the communication is not a host system association update,then determining whether the communication is a mobile station resourceallocation update; and if the communication is a mobile station resourceallocation update, then the network resource monitor determining whetherthe host system is associated with the mobile station, and notifying thehost system about the resource allocation update to the mobile.
 26. Themethod of claim 25, wherein communication between the network resourcemonitor and the host system takes place over a dedicated point-to-pointlink.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein communication between thenetwork resource monitor and the host system takes place over a virtualprivate network (VPN) connection through the Internet.
 28. The method ofclaim 25, wherein the mobile station becomes associated with the hostsystem when the mobile station mates with a serial port on a networkowned by the host system and exchanges private key information.
 29. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the mobile station becomes associated withthe host system when the mobile station logs into a secure website andregisters with the host system.
 30. The method of claim 25, wherein thenetwork resource monitor monitors network resources controlled by adynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server.
 31. The method ofclaim 30, wherein the network resource monitor monitors networkresources via a TCP/IP splitter.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein thenetwork resource monitor monitors network resources via network routercommands that cause TCP/IP traffic to be mirrored on two ports.